Drill Max vs IMAX3 ??

[taekwondomeow]

Hi there

This is my first post on the forum but I've been reading all the wonderful advice here for the last 6 months or so. Before I say anything else i'd just like to thank you all for taking the time to share your knowledge, experiences and thoughts on this forum - I have learnt more in the last few months about how to nourish my body and help improve my strength and fitness than I had in the previous 8 years!

I also only discovered Cathe's workouts about 6 months ago too - OH MY GOD she is fantastic! I'm from England (UK) and there is no-one out here that has even come close to producing a home workout as hard as hers - I'm just sooo grateful we have dvd's now!(US videos are incompatible with our VCRs).

Okay, sorry I'm rambling - here's the question I wanted to post in the first place:

I own 5 Cathe dvds now - Drill Max, Kick Max, Boot Camp (+ME), Power Hour (+ MIS and Body Max) and IMAX 3. Now IMAX 3 was my most recent purchase and I bought it because it had the highest intensity rating of all Cathe's workouts. I did it for the first time yesterday though and I hate to say it but I was really disappointed - I find Drill Max much more challenging (esp. the ultra-cardio blast). I also find Kick Max more challenging if I do the warm-up then the blasts followed by the combos then another set of blasts.

Has anyone else found that IMAX 3 wasn't as challenging as they'd hoped?

I did find the step choreography very hard to keep up with (I've never done much step before) and I wonder if my heart rate didn't become elevated enough during the step routines (obviously the blasts sent my HR sky high ) because I wasn't performing the moves correctly....again, has anyone else found that the intensity of IMAX 3 increased dramatically after a few attempts when the moves became more familiar?

Very sorry for the long post! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this

Sally

 

[Boybert]

Try the blasts only premix on Imax 3. If that's not intense for you, I don't know what is!


Debbie


It's not denial. I'm just selective about the reality I accept.
-Calvin & Hobbes

 

[krisfitness]

I agree. I LOVE Imax 3 with the blasts only premix. I think the step portion is too chorepgraphed...never got into it. Here is a killer cardio workout if you are up to it (using the DVDs you own)

Here's the workout:
#1. Drillmax = cardio only premix (timesaver or scrambled)
#2: Imax 3 = blasts only premix
#3: Kickmax = blast challenge only (NO kicking/punching)
#4: Bootcamp = cardio only premix

An hour and 10 minutes of HIGH INTENSITY cardio...Try it!! }(

Kristen

 

[taekwondomeow]

Thanks for the suggestion of using the blast only premix! I have to admit, I'm never keen on doing less than 45-60minutes of cardio so I tend not to do the shorter premixes - hence my love of the ultra cardio premix on Drill Max!

That really does look like a killer cardio workout Kirsten - cheers for the suggestion :7 I think I'll psyche myself up for doing that this weekend - I'm not sure my knees will like it but I'm definitely up for the challenge!!

(I hate to admit defeat on the choreography though - I'm going to try and learn one move every couple of days and see if I can't master it eventually - sometimes I think my coordination needs as much work as my body!)

Thanks again for the tips guys - much appreciated

Sally

 

[WRITER]

I recenlty re-acquired Imax3 after (as I mentioned in another post) being scared away by the complex choregraphy.

It is now my favorite workout -- I have to restrain myself from doing it more than twice a week.

Two things about the intensity: 1) It does get more intense the better you learn the moves; the intensity goes down when you miss steps here and there and when you are a little tentative because you don't know the moves well. 2) The six inch platform keeps it slightly lower for me than Imax (which I do on 8 inches). I can't go to 8 inches because I could never manage some of the moves such as the side lunges that require you to stretch your legs across the step. I think if you have long legs, you could add a riser to increase intensity.

I have also found that now that I know what is coming, I add more energy to the blasts and they feel more energetic. I am surprised by how much I love the blasts.

I don't think it's killer -- I think it's just a really, really fun way to jump around like a little kid!

 

[kimyenchu]

Hello Sally,

I was wondering if you do any of the MIS DVD with heavy weights or light weights? I bought a barbell set from Argos (50kg) and use that for the weight traning. I also have dumbbell set I bought ages ago 2kg-8kg. I find with the UK metric system, sometimes the weights are not 100% accurate e.g. 4kg is a little more than 8lbs. This means that where she uses 8lbs I am using heavier.

What do you use for weights and where did you buy the equipment?

BTW. Her later series are much better than the earlier ones, e.g Muscle Max, Gym Styles Pyramids etc.

Yen

 

[taekwondomeow]

Hi Yen

I've only done MIS a couple of times and I've done it with a mix of weights - I can match Cathe for the leg work but I have to go quite a bit lower for pretty much every upper body exercise. The same goes for Power Hour and Body Max.

I've had the same problem matching lbs and kg but I figure that as long as I'm using a weight that challenges me without being too heavy it doesn't really matter too much.

I only have 3 dumbell sets - a 3lb (ish), 5lb (ish) and 9lb (again - ish). I hope to get a larger range at some point but as I can do all the DVDs I have with these I probably won't get any for a while. I also bought a barbell set from Argos (20kg) - I found the weight okay but it was a Spinlock and I found I couldn't adjust the weights quickly enough. Two weeks ago I bought a new barbell set with a springlock from Powerhouse fitness (they're online but they also have stores around the UK) and it's great. Powerhouse were great with me and they seem to have a large range of reasonably priced equipment...

I was actually thinking of getting Cathe's Gym Style series next (I've read a lot of good things about them on this forum) - money's a bit tight at the moment though so again it might be a while. Plus I haven't really been doing MIS or Power Hour very long so I think I'll stick with those for another 6-8 weeks before changing my workouts.

Nice to hear from someone else in the UK

Sally

 

[kimyenchu]

Sally,

Try ordering from www.advancedworkouts.com or www.cksales.com. They stock all Cathe's DVDs and are much cheaper as you don't pay the VAT and customer charge when it is delivered. Cathe uses UPS who is taxed to the hilt when deliveries enter this country.

I have the York set from Argos and it has the spinlock thing. What I did was buy another bar on it's own and then I have two sets ready. Between the two it's enough to set the weights up for legs and upperbody. If I want to change the weights I just tack them to the bar without removing the spinlock. For example, I will set the bar with 2 1.25kg weight plates then screw the spinlocks on. I add 2.5kg to the end if I want to go heavy or 1.5kg if I want to go light. The weights don't move or drop off if you lift it evenly. I also have lots of weight plates because I bought the 50kg set, so there are enough with 2 barbells.

I think Argos is stocking more fitness equipment now. I noticed they have the dumbbells for £200+ or something. It's not complete, it's from 2kg, 4kg, 5kg, 6kg, 8kg and 10kg or something like that, but it's a pretty good set. Luckily, I managed to buy a set of dumbbells like the one Cathe uses in MIS DVD ages ago for little over £80. I have 2kg-8kg going up by 1kg increment. I love this set!!! Unfortunately, the company seems to have gone bust since then as I was looking to buy more, 11kg-15kg etc. for the new workout series.

Yen